It was colder than had been forecast. It was windier than had been forecast. But for those die-hard race fans that bundled up and made their way to the LaSalle Speedway on Sunday afternoon for the abbreviated 2019 version of the Thaw Brawl, it was well worth the chill as they were treated to a spectacular 75-lap Late Model main event that saw nine lead changes between five different drivers with the winner still in question until the final set of turns.
Originally scheduled to be a Friday and Saturday event, the track's annual season opener was pushed to a Saturday and Sunday plan based upon the rain that was in the forecast. A practice session was able to beat the rain on Friday evening, but when too much precipitation came overnight Saturday's event was postponed to July 20th with this one now being a big-paying one-day show on Sunday afternoon.
With a forecast for sunny skies and a high around 44 with just a light wind from the west, we decided to make the nearly three hour trip knowing that racing was scheduled to take the green at 3 p.m. When we arrived at the high-banked quarter-mile though, the temperature was still stuck at 37 with a brisk north wind. Thank goodness the sun was out bright though as that gave us hope and when the wind shifted more to the west that made viewing conditions much better, especially since the grandstands here face to the east.
With $15,000 on the line for the winner of the American Ethanol Late Model Tour opener the 31-car field was stacked with talent and the first qualifying heat race took the green around 3:15. The top five finishers from the three heats as well as the top five from the one B-Main would qualify for the 75-lap headliner and one provisional would be added based upon the final point standings in 2018.
Kyle Bronson and Jason Feger would bring the field to green with Bronson getting the edge to lead lap one, but third starting Brian Shirley was digging around the bottom and he would take the point as the second lap was scored. The next two circuits would prove that we had a two groove racetrack to work with as Bronson came back on the cushion to lead lap three only to have Shirley regain the advantage on lap four. Before Shirley could be the first to lead two consecutive laps though Scott Schmitt spun to the infield at the exit of turn two to require the first caution of the event.
Once back to action Shirley would take command leading the field through a lap thirteen caution for Hudson O'Neal's spin in turn two and Shirley would continue to set the pace until lapped traffic created a challenger for him on lap twenty-six. With Bronson still riding the topside he would again sweep around Shirley for the lead on lap twenty-eight only to give it right back to Shirley on the next circuit.
Traffic was still a concern for the leader though and on lap thirty-two when he clipped the right rear of Bob Gardner entering turn one it turned the lapped car a bit sideways. Gardner was able to make the save, but when the defending Ethanol Tour champion Brandon Thirlby had to check up to miss Gardner, he slid to a stop bringing out the next caution.
Only one more lap was scored following the restart as Shannon Babb slowed with an apparent flat tire and following that restart Bronson again went to the treacherous top to try to make his run at the leader. When Bronson jumped the cushion on lap thirty-eight though he broke a J-bar and limped to the pits with the race staying green. Shirley was now in command, but it did not last long as on lap forty-two the leader slowed coming out of turn four to bring out the next caution.
After pitting to change a flat, Shirley rejoined the field as the race went back to green with Chris Simpson the new leader in the Hoker Trucking car #32. After the demise of Bronson it looked like everybody had given up on the top as Simpson was the leader of the parade around the bottom until he caught the back of the field. Bob Gardner was also glued to the bottom and after following him for a couple of laps, Simpson tried to enter the turns one groove higher than the lapped car in hope of letting him know that a race was coming and that he was now in it.
Gardner did not yield though and Simpson settled back in behind the lapped car as his challengers Bobby Pierce and Tyler Erb closed in. Neither of the young chargers were content with just following the leader though and when they showed their nose up top Simpson knew that he had to go and get around the lapped car of Gardner. Simpson again tried to use the middle and even the cushion to dispatch Gardner and coming to lap sixty-three Gardner slipped a bit wide off turn four and Simpson tried to squeeze below him. Pierce was already there though and when those two leaders made contact at the flagstand not only did it allow Gardner to again shut the door into turn one, it also gave Erb the chance that he needed to make a run.
As Simpson and Pierce gathered their rides after the contact, Erb charged around the top of turns one and two to take the lead before tucking back down to the bottom still behind Gardner, but now ahead of both Simpson and Pierce. Not to be outdone Pierce now went to the top on both ends of the speedway and after getting around Simpson for second in one lap he then took the lead from Erb on lap sixty-six. All three contenders would finally get around Gardner on the following lap and the chase was now on.
The top was definitely fast, but it was now quite rough as well especially in turn two so Pierce went back to the bottom while Erb still tried to cowboy up around the rim. Lapped traffic would come back into play with just five laps to go though as Pierce closed in on Travis Stemler who had started the race as the series provisional. Pierce was able to squeeze under Stemler through three and four and with Erb catching the cushion just right they passed the flagstand three-wide with just four laps to go.
Pierce would be even with him exiting turn two, but Erb's momentum off the cushion allowed him to pull ahead and then shut the door on Pierce as they both raced low into turn three. Sticking with the cushion in turns one and two Erb wheel hopped the car three times nearly losing control so after the white flag waved he went to the bottom and was able to hold off Pierce to take the exciting win. Simpson was now several car lengths back in third, Dennis Erb Jr. finished fourth while B-Main winner Ricky Weiss came from sixteenth to fifth. Defending All Iowa Points champion Jeremiah Hurst was solid all day in the Roberts Racing #58 to finish in sixth, Thirlby is off to a good start in his title defense by finishing seventh ahead of Rich Bell, Spencer Diercks and Stemler.
Thaw Brawl Notes.....Tyler Erb's win came after starting eleventh on the 21-car grid......Kudos to the American Ethanol Tour's qualifying method that saw the top three cars in each heat inverted with the top five finishers transferring to the main event. Each heat race winner then drew for positions one, two and three in the feature lineup. Erb briefly panned the invert during his victory lane interview, but come on Tyler, isn't it more fun to win a race by actually having to pass some people? I know that this fan, and everybody else who paid $35 for a ticket on this cold and windy day sure appreciated your victory more under this format......I also want to thank the Tour for only running one B-Main for the sixteen cars that had still not made the show after the heats. This means that "the true" top-five from this race are making the show and it was a good battle with Frankie Heckenast edging out Eric Spangler by a nose for the final transfer spot. I see way too many events now that will take a field like this and split them into two eight-car B-Mains as if to say "sorry guys we don't trust that we can put all sixteen of you out there at once and not have you drive all over each other." Deery Brothers, Dirt Knights Tour, others, are you paying attention?,,,,,It was notable though that the Ethanol Tour only granted one series provisional with the 2018 points runner-up Travis Stemler getting the nod. With big money on the line drawing in a strong field, and with the Tour opener coming outside of its home base in Michigan, only seven projected "regulars" were in attendance. The defending champ Thirlby had the best finish in seventh, Sheffield, Illinois, driver Rich Bell who has made the trip into Michigan to follow the Ethanol Tour the past two seasons finished eighth. Stemler made the most of his provisional by running tenth while Logan Arntz finished twelfth. Eric Spangler just missed making the show leaving him in the trailer for the feature along with Chad Finley and Mike Vandermark......The next two events for the American Ethanol Late Model Tour will be on Friday April 19th at the I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan, and Saturday April 20th at the Plymouth Speedway in northwest Indiana.....There was a forty-five minute intermission to re-work the track before the features and then another fifteen minutes were needed when the pickup truck that had the mister tank in the back was parked at the top of turn four as the Late Models came onto the track. Parked on the banking water was flowing out of the tank and running down the track and once one of the infield workers noticed it he ran over to the truck to tell the driver to get it moved. The water continued to stream out of the bed of the truck as it was turned around and driven around the bottom of turns three and four before exiting the speedway. Promoter Tony Izzo then had to bring out more equipment to break up the now soaked portions of the track so that the drivers could then pack it in under their parade laps. All said, given the way the feature race played out, the one hour wait was well worth it......That wait though now put the end of the victory lane ceremonies for the Late Models past six o'clock so when there were three straight cautions at the start of the American Ethanol Tour Modified feature we made the choice to hit the road for home in our cozy sun-warmed vehicle..... Front row starters Allen Weisser and Frank Marshall finished one-two in the Ethanol Modified Tour feature while Ricky Thornton Jr. took the IMCA Modified honors and Skyler Woods bested a five car field of Sport Mods. For details on those three races along with another point of view on the Thaw Brawl check out Ed Reichert's One Fan's Travels and for even more Positively Racing coverage of the Late Models check in with Danny Rosencrans on Racin' Down The Road.
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